S. Korea buys more Taurus missiles amid N.K. nuke threats

SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to buy more Taurus air-to-surface missiles that can strike North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities, military officials said Tuesday.

"The military has recently decided to acquire 90 more Taurus missiles to further beef up its anti-nuclear and anti-missile capabilities. The process to purchase the additional missiles is underway," a defense ministry official told Yonhap News Agency.

Some 170 Taurus missiles are already scheduled to be deployed with the Air Force. The North's fifth nuclear test last month and continued ballistic missile launches resulted in the additional purchase.

When the deployment is complete, the Air Force will be the first Asian country to operate fighter jets armed with the advanced German 500-kilometer-ranged missile system, the official said.

The air-launched cruise missile can automatically detect, trace and hit targets and penetrate a concrete wall as thick as six meters.

Meanwhile, the military is also considering adopting the small diameter bomb II, or SDB II, which can destroy moving targets more than 60 kilometers away in all kinds of weather, the official said.

SDB II can be fired from the F-15K fighter and can strike North Korea's moving missile launchers.